To pursue his passion, Felix Nai travelled to the tranquil Japanese countryside to master the art of indigo dyeing.
For Felix Nai, indigo dyeing is not just a profession; it is a journey into the secrets of nature and a way to promote a more sustainable future in the fashion industry. His inky blue stained hands and nails are the first thing most people notice about Felix Nai. Some might mistake it for a manicure, but this is in fact the result of his work as a indigo dye craftsman, which requires him to immerse his hands into vats of dye when colouring textiles.
Nai made frequent visits to Japan to keep in touch with the artisans and to find out more about indigo dyeing. “I started to see the world through the lens of indigo. It has existed for hundreds of years and the one thing that has not changed is how interconnected it is to nature and people,” he observed.When the pandemic struck, Nai made the decision to return to Singapore to share the skills and knowledge he had learned from the craftsmen in Japan.
It takes 350kg of dried leaves to produce a batch of dye. The leaves are fermented in large vats for two weeks, during which the temperature and pH value are monitored closely. “Only at the optimum conditions will the colour give birth, so I call these two weeks the ‘pregnancy phase’,” said Nai. Nai was mesmerised about fabric manipulation when he studied fashion design at Temasek Polytechnic, a module he admitted was the most memorable for him. Even as a student, he recalls being very opinionated about the concepts and techniques he wanted to pursue, a quality he continues to uphold till this day.
Vani Rajandran, deputy director of the School of Design at Temasek Polytechnic, was his former teacher and remains a good friend and life-coach to Nai today. She said: “Felix has a very clear sense of purpose and direction as one of the very few artisans in the field of indigo dyeing. Not many people are exploring this niche area in Singapore, and he was willing to do something uncharted.”
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